


I Need a Ride

by catiemo



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Childhood Friends, Goth!Cas, M/M, goth cas
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-21
Updated: 2013-09-21
Packaged: 2017-12-27 05:28:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/974973
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catiemo/pseuds/catiemo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dean's neighbor and childhood friend comes back into his life when his car breaks down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Need a Ride

            When Dean’s friend Cas started wearing nothing but black, they were already drifting apart. When Dean’s neighbor Cas got his first piercing, they barely talked anymore. And when that weird kid Castiel started skipping class to smoke behind the school, Dean barely noticed.

            At least that’s what he tried to convince himself. The truth was a lot more complicated than that. He’d grown up spending every waking moment (and many sleeping moments) with Cas. They were best friends until sixth grade when Dean’s confession of love resulted in Cas hanging up the phone and avoiding the topic of Dean’s sexuality on the rare occasion they talked. The problem was that Dean never totally stopped feeling that way about Cas.

            One day in their junior year, he walked to his car after school to find a black-clad figure leaning against his baby. “What do you want, Cas?” Dean asked, pushing his glasses up his nose and digging in his pocket for keys.

            “My car won’t start,” Cas said, as if that was the only logical reason he had wound up on the hood of his ex-best friend’s Impala.

            “And?” He cocked an eyebrow as he opened the driver’s side door.

            “I need a ride, you ass.”

            Dean was taken aback by the swearing, but nodded toward the other door. “Get in,” he sighed.

            The ride back to their neighborhood was quiet and uncomfortable; nothing broke the silence but a classic rock station at a low volume.

            When Dean pulled into his driveway and shut off the ignition, Cas turned to him. “Um…I probably won’t have a car for a few days. I’ll need a way to and from school.”

            “Fine,” Dean said “but if you’re late I’m leaving without you.”

            “Fair enough,” Cas smirked as he got out of the car and walked to his own house.

            Dean grabbed his bag from the back seat and wondered if he should read into this situation. This wasn’t his Cas asking him for rides, this was some strange goth kid who had taken Cas’s place, but Dean had a hard time separating the two.

 

            The next morning, Dean left the house to find Cas leaning on his car again. “Could you not do that?” He asked, unlocking the door.

            “Oh, I forgot,” Cas scoffed, “wouldn’t want to get my weird all over your precious car.”

            “Just get in,” Dean muttered, throwing his bag behind the driver’s seat.

            Cas slid into the passenger seat, black messenger bag settling into his lap.

            Dean drove to school, the music a little louder this time to compensate for the silence. He tried not to glance at Cas licking over his pierced lip, tried not to notice how the eyeliner he wore made the blue irises stand out against pale skin, and resisted the urge to reach out and grab his hand. He shouldn’t feel this strongly about having a boy in his car, especially Castiel Novak, king of the goths.

            And when Dean pulled into a parking spot in the school lot, Cas left the Impala without so much as a “thank you,” and Dean should be mad about that, but he wasn’t.

            At lunch, Dean found himself taking his food outside where he knew Cas liked to eat, despite the fact that it was cold, even for late October.

            No one was on the bench behind the science wing when Dean sat down with his homemade lunch, and he pulled out a sandwich as he pulled his coat tight against the breeze.

            “What brings you out in the cold, Winchester?” The voice came from behind him and was accompanied by the smell of cigarette smoke and a thrill down his spine.

            “Just getting some fresh air,” he replied turning to face Cas, “not that your nasty habit is helping any.”

            “Oh, I’m sorry,” Cas said, taking a long drag before leaning in and breathing into Dean’s face, “I didn’t realize I was nasty.”

            Dean blinked in confusion and he noticed Cas smirk before pulling away. “Just eat your damn sandwich.” Dean returned his attention to his food and tried not to flinch as Cas sat next to him on the bench. “You still eat bologna?” Cas asked, slightly mocking.

            “If you’re going to make fun of my food, you can leave.”

            “I wasn’t making fun of it,” Cas said, softening a bit, “it just reminded me of when we were little.” Dean looked over as Cas tapped the ash off the end of his cigarette.

            “We’re not kids anymore, Castiel,” Dean said and he tried not to feel smug when the other boy cringed slightly at his full name.

            “I’m fully aware of that, Dean.” the sentence was spit out as he dropped the butt of his cigarette and ground it under his combat boot. “I’ll see you after school.” Dean sat frozen on the bench as he watched Cas walk away. He didn’t know what to make of their exchange. It seemed the more he interacted with this black-clad and cynical version of his childhood friend, the less he knew about him, and the more he wanted to.

 

 

            When Dean got to his car after school, Cas wasn’t there. Despite his threats to leave without him, Dean sat in the Impala for about fifteen minutes before he gave up and drove home. He tried to convince himself that he wasn’t disappointed, that he was just pissed at waiting for Cas when he didn’t show.

            He pulled into his driveway and went straight to his room to do homework. He was still fuming an hour later when Sam knocked on his door.

            “Dean?” He asked, poking his head in the door.

            “What do you want, Sammy?”

            “Cas is here,” he said. “He won’t come upstairs so will you come down?”

            “Tell Cas he can blow me.”

            “Dean, I’m not going to say that.”

            “Then just send him away. I don’t want to see him.”

            “Okay, Dean,” Sam left the room, closing the door behind him. Dean didn’t hear Cas leave, but a few minutes later he heard a tapping on his window. He tried to ignore it and focus on his math, but the tapping didn’t stop.

            He walked to the window, threw it open and practically ripped the broom from Cas’s hand. “What the hell do you want?” he screamed.

            “I want my broom back,” Cas asked from his bedroom. Dean tried not to think about the tin cans they kept between their windows when they were younger or about the time Cas almost fell trying to climb between them.

            “Not until you tell me why you never showed up after school, and why the hell you wanna talk to me now.”

            “I want to talk to you precisely to explain why I didn’t show this afternoon.”

            “I’m listening,”

            “I was in the art lab and didn’t hear the bell ring. by the time I noticed, it was almost four. I’m sorry.”

            “How did you get home?”

            “My friend Meg was kind enough to go out of her way. She was in detention.”

            “Oh,” Dean’s face fell. He hated that he couldn’t stay mad at Cas. He hated that he wanted to risk falling out the damn window to kiss him. He hated that Cas actually looked good in black. Dean hated a lot of things, but he realized that Cas was not one of them.

            “Can I have my broom back?”

            Dean handed it back silently, his eyes not leaving Cas’s face. “Goodbye, Dean. I’ll see you in the morning.”

            “Yeah, bye, Cas.” They closed their windows and Cas pulled his black curtains closed before Dean went downstairs to wait for dinner.

**  
**

            “Good news, Winchester,” Cas greeted Dean the next morning, “Dad’s getting my car this evening, so you’re free of me after today.”

            “Good, ‘cause I swear if you don’t stop leaning on my car, I’m gonna punch you in the face.”

            “Testy this morning,” Cas said, opening the door Dean had just unlocked for him.

            “Only ‘cause you’re testing me,” Dean said with a small smile. He hoped Cas didn’t notice.

            The ride was as silent as their previous ones but it was more comfortable somehow. Cas left the Impala with a polite “thanks, Dean,” and that was that. Dean had one more ride before Cas would walk out of his life again and he wasn’t ready for that.

            So he found himself on the same bench at lunch, but Cas never came.

            He went to his locker after school and found a sticky note tacked to it. “Come to the art lab” was all it said, but even after years apart, Dean recognized Cas’s handwriting, so he made his way to the other side of the school after gathering his things.

            The door was open when he got there, and despite it being a classroom Dean knocked tentatively on the door frame before entering and approaching Cas, who was draped over a table, clearly focused on something. “I thought I’d be done by now, just wait a second.”

            “What are you working on?” Dean asked, coming closer.

            “Don’t look.” There was an edge to Cas’s voice and it startled Dean into stillness, “it’s a surprise,” he said softer. “I just have to spray it and then you can see.”

            He reached over the table for an aerosol can, shook it and sprayed a mist in the general direction of the paper he was working on.

            “There,” Cas said, stepping aside and gesturing Dean forward. When Dean saw what Cas had done, his jaw dropped.

            “I hope you still like Batman,” he said.

            “It’s awesome, Cas,” Dean said, still staring at the charcoal drawing of him sporting Batman’s suit (minus the cowl) with the bat signal behind him.

            “It’s just a little thank you for the rides,” he said, “and maybe it’s a bit of a peace offering too. I miss you, Dean. I miss what we had.”

            Dean sighed and looked away from the drawing to the artist. “I miss it too, Cas, but in case you don’t remember, you’re the one who rejected me.”

            “I still don’t know why I did that,” Cas admitted.

            “Don’t do this to me, Cas,” Dean begged.

            “Why, Dean?” Cas was getting closer, “you did this to me when I was in sixth grade; before I even knew that bisexuality existed. I was already confused about you and I was scared. I couldn’t deal with it so I panicked. I’m sorry.”

            “I’m sorry too,” Dean said, taking a tentative step toward Cas and locking eyes with him. “I’m sorry we haven’t talked about it until now.”

            “Me too,” and before Dean knew what was happening, Cas was pulling him in and pressing his lips against his. The lip ring was different, but Dean quickly decided he liked it. He was pushed by his hips until his back was against the table and then Cas’s tongue was pressing against his lips.

            He let Cas explore his mouth, occasionally getting bold enough to move his tongue against the other man’s. He didn’t realize that he was gripping Cas’s shirt until the kiss was broken and they were panting against each other. “Sorry,” Cas said.

            “I’m just sorry it took us so long.”

            “Dean, we’ve changed,” Cas pointed out. “but it’s okay; I’d like to get to know you again.”

            “That sounds like a good idea,” Dean agreed.

            “So, since my car’s fixed, I’m taking you on a date this weekend.”

            Dean chuckled a little at his boldness, “whatever you say, Cas.”

            Cas placed another small kiss on his lips before leading the way out of the school. This time, the ride was anything but silent and Dean was ecstatic to have this strange man who was once his best friend sitting in his car and talking to him again.


End file.
